vMobo goes on a Binge with VClusive

vMobo's main product Vcloud ­ a cloud net work for multi brand rewards and privilege programme ­ has been re branded as VClusive, and looks to integ rate the existing 85,000 members who have been making Rs 2-crore worth of transactions a month at offline stores that use the technology.Mugdha Variyar | ET Bureau | October 18, 2016, 13:35 IST

The brands range across lifestyle and fashion products as well as luxury experiences in beauty and wellness, and food and beverages sectors.BENGALURU: FintechstartupBinge, which runs an app to aggregate mobile wallets for restaurant bill payments, has been acquired by California-based direct marketing company vMobo for a valuation of $3.5 million, with the latter acquiring the Bengaluru startup's assets, including the technology, partnerships and the team.

The acquisition, which also includes a merger with Mumbai-based styling startup Dapper Don, has resulted in the launch of a network marketplace of about 120 brands, called VClusive, which was launched over the weekend.

The brands range across lifestyle and fashion products as well as luxury experiences in beauty and wellness, and food and beverages sectors.

vMobo's main product Vcloud ­ a cloud net work for multi brand rewards and privilege programme ­ has been re branded as VClusive, and looks to integrate the existing 85,000 members who have been making Rs 2-crore worth of transactions a month at offline stores that use the technology. "There was no luxury marketplace that was targeting the high earning individuals who purchase affordable and accessible luxury items. Our target customers include those who have a disposable income of Rs 10 lakh or more in a year," said CEO Vinu Sundaresan.

Binge's technology was integrated with the larger entity in June, while the legalities of the merger were completed this month. "This integration helps us solve the problem of the customer-facing, point-of-sale experience by providing a payment last-mile," he said.

Binge, owned by Noroc Solutions, will not exist as a brand, and its 25,000 users will have to download the VClusive app, which also has the integrated wallet with the same wallet partners from Binge such as Paytm and MobiKwik, co-founder Santosh Martin said.

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